"Rainy City" is a Japanese animated short film directed and written by Yuyasu Ishida, although the whole film is only nine minutes and tens of seconds, it is a highly completed work, and currently has a high score of 8.2 on Douban. Although there is not a single line of dialogue in the film, behind the quiet atmosphere, the audience has many unknown imaginations.
Some people say that Ishida Yuyasu's style of work is healing and fresh, and there is a sense of Miyazaki's vision. "Rainy City" has this sense of both vision, the film picture is beautiful, giving people a sentimental but warm memory feeling. The sound of ticking rain, ticking bells, sparsely populated streets, with soft and pure music in the background of memories, I believe that everyone will have different emotional entanglements after watching it.
The film is about a small town, I don't know when, every day is raining continuously and worryingly. Some people moved to far away places, some moved to the highlands, away from the wet and sad rainy city. The once beautiful and vibrant town became lifeless and lifeless. One day, a little girl in a yellow raincoat walked through the streets and met a rusty robot friend. They played happily in the rain, their footsteps stirring up cheerful splashes.
If you only watch this film once, I believe that most people can't understand what the director wants to express to us, and I am the same. There are many people who say that watching this movie is desolate and depressing, but this is only a superficial meaning. I have seen it many times myself: the first time I saw desolation and sadness, the second time I saw loneliness and memories, and the third time I saw beauty and warmth.
Therefore, if you carefully taste this film, you will find that behind the desolation and depression is full of great charm: healing memories, touching waiting, beautiful companionship and so on. Below I will interpret the deep meaning of this dialogueless short film from the perspective of my understanding.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > one or two memories are intertwined, with memories, one encounter, one miss</h1>
The story of the film begins with the memories of the old woman, and in the old woman's memories, there are two memories of the robot. These two memories exhaust the sorrow and joy and clutch of the people under the story, but behind the sadness and separation, there are ripples of inner warmth.
In her mother-in-law's recollection, she was still a little girl at that time. At her mother's behest, she ran toward a crooked path to her grandmother's house. The sky was pouring rain, and the rain was dripping on the ground. A small figure in a yellow raincoat excitedly weaves through the sparsely populated street.
In the face of the cold and silent street, the endless rain, but her eyes are only curious, innocent and happy. She walked through a long narrow tunnel and found a robot, sitting motionless in a chair, the little girl shaking his body, the robot body squeaking, but still ignoring her.
The little girl continued to run forward, trotting back and finding the robot following her. She ran excitedly toward him, circling him in happy circles. She happily stepped on the rain on the ground, stirring up a splash of water on the ground. She played hide-and-seek with him, and he cooperated with her. She was making a fuss, and he was with her. Just like that, two small figures were laughing in the pouring rain.
In her mother-in-law's memories, she and the robot met, and after the encounter was a warm time. We see an innocent little girl, a sentient robot. The interaction between them made us feel a warm ripple in our hearts, as if we saw the simple and fearless self of that year.
In this scene, behind the desolate street, what we see is: two simple and kind people; a friendship that only needs to look at each other, and everything is unspoken; a silent but better than a voice expression. This is probably what the director wants to express: no matter how bad the environment is, we still have to maintain the original innocence and heat.
Making a fuss, he touched her head gently, and she took his hand and held it in her own hand, looking at him with a smile. Looking at the girl who was smiling at him in front of him, he recalled that many, many years ago, there was also a girl who held his hand and smiled at him like this.
The weather was still sunny and sunny. But then heavy rain hit the town, and the girl wore a red raincoat and prepared to move away from the town with her parents. Before parting, he and the girl in the red raincoat reluctantly said goodbye, watching the girl's car getting farther and farther away, he waved his hand to say goodbye to the girl.
Another memory is that after his body had collapsed, as a hand-pushed camera moved through the long tunnel, he recalled the time when he was with the girl, when the sky was very blue, the sun was warm on the ground, there were still many people on the street, and there were still many cars on the road.
The director sandwiched two memories of the robot in the memories of the old woman. These two memories are warm and healing, the source of his original intention; these two memories are the testimony of his good times, which cannot be put down; these two memories further highlight the robot's miss for the girl he once was, and his selfless and unrequited waiting.
Two memories, two misses. His memories were full of sunshine, no endless rain, only two accompanying figures. Under the director's exquisite arrangement, we can immerse ourselves in such warm memories, forget the sadness in the film, and give the soul a healing growth baptism.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > second, waiting is the purest interpretation of thoughts, and companionship is the warmest response to encounters</h1>
01, a thought, always waiting
From many years ago, after the girl in the red raincoat left. The robot just sat every day saying goodbye to the girl and waiting for her to come back. The rain was still falling, and the streets were exceptionally quiet except for the sound of rain, lifeless houses, mottled walls, discarded waste on the ground, and chaotic telephone poles. In such a lonely environment, a Muna robot has been sitting on a bench, allowing the rain to corrode his skin and not leave.
When describing the street, the director uses panoramic and push-pull shots, in which the appearance of the town is completely exposed to the audience, highlighting the depression and loneliness and antiquity of the town. In such a scene, the loneliness and smallness of the robot are highlighted, but more than that, his willing and loyal waiting and warm thoughts are highlighted.
Later he met another girl who resembled the girl he had been before, and the girl pulled him forward, and he followed her with his own slow pace. After a while, he fell to the ground, and his body was torn apart and fell to the ground. It turned out that his body had been soaked in the rain for many years, and it had been soaked. The body also went from new to worn out, but he was still there waiting, waiting for a good friend of his.
The little girl stared blankly at him lying on the ground, no longer formed. She tried to run forward, and then turned back, and he didn't keep up, and then she ran forward, and then she turned back, and he still didn't keep up. So she went on to her grandmother's house, bringing her grandmother, who was wearing a red raincoat. It turned out that she was the girl of that year. Grandma looked at the robots scattered on the ground and remembered him. Grandma touched his head and pushed his head in the direction of home, with the little girl following behind.
His waiting is unforgettable and brings tears to one's eyes. But this tear is heart-warming, a kind of spiritual comfort. Just like some people, have been silently waiting there, not asking for anything in return, and when you turn around, find that he has been behind you, silently guarding you, waiting for you. This waiting is simple and sincere: just because you were good to me, and we used to be with each other's friendship, so I wait for you.
Fortunately, his wait was not in vain, and finally he saw the girl in red that he missed every day, even though the years had passed for a long time. Fortunately, he met a girl in yellow who simply treated him. Since then, the mutual protection of him and the girl in yellow has become the most tender friendship of the years.
02, an encounter, a lifetime of companionship
The film begins in a small room where an old woman dressed in yellow with wrinkled hair sits quietly on a stool, the walls are covered with photographs, and a table next to it is lined with green plants, and the head of a "short column" has been turning black slippery eyeballs, looking at the old woman opposite.
Seeing this, we can't understand what the director wants to express, and from the naked eye we seem to see only the loneliness of an old man. But in the later memories, we can know that the old woman is a little girl in a yellow raincoat, and the "short column" head is a robot. They walked together for the rest of their lives.
The director uses flashbacks and sets up suspense at the beginning, allowing us to find answers in our questions, thus leading to the warm friendship that follows: because of an encounter, they have accompanied them for a lifetime. Such an exquisite arrangement strongly caused the audience's inner emotional fluctuations and felt a warm companionship.
Looking at them in the picture, I seem to hear their inner dialogue:
Robot: Whatever happens, I'll stay with you until you're old. Even though my body has left me, I still look at you with my eyes, with my moss-covered head.
Old Woman: Although you have no body, I will always be there. I always remember the way we played happily in the heavy rain that year, and in my heart, you are still a complete you.
In my opinion, this is a "love" companionship, I can't understand what "love" is, like friendship, like love, more like family affection. In short, no matter what kind of "love", it is a memory worth cherishing.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > three: waiting is fascinating, companionship is satisfying, and learning to embrace the world with innocence, heat, and optimism</h1>
After watching "Rainy City", I believe that everyone has a different understanding. Some people say that the old woman's old age is lonely and the memory is sad; some people think that the robot's waiting is lonely, and the memory is regrettable.
But I would say that the old woman's old age was content because she had the company of a robot for the rest of her life; the memories were wonderful because it was her most innocent time. And the robot's waiting is a pure perseverance, because it is his uncomplaining and regretless protection; the memory is warm, because there are his most important friends.
The reason why everyone sees it differently is because our mentality is affected. After watching the movie many times, I also understood two things that are important to our lives but easy to lose: innocence and heat, and a good attitude. So I think we should keep the following two points at all times:
01, always keep the original innocence and heat
In the film, in a small town with heavy rain and depression, the little girl is not affected by this environment, but she is very happy and runs freely on the street. Playing with the splash on the ground, treating the robot friend sincerely, playing with him, and the face is also a simple and innocent smile.
In her we can see an innocent joy that doesn't carry other complicated things. This joy, simple and beautiful. However, living in the modern world of traffic and lights, how many people still remember the simple but fearless self? On the contrary, we are more likely to lose our original intentions by the chaotic environment, and become sluggish and irritable.
Therefore, although the heroine of this short film is a little girl, she is interpreted for adults to see. It tells us that there must be a little girl who looks at the world at all times, and reminds us to go back to that innocent "era" and meet our original selves.
Writer Roland said: If a person can always maintain a pure heart like a child, do things with an optimistic mood, treat others with a kind heart, and be bright and frank, his life must be much happier than others.
Therefore, even if life will still have a lot of unsatisfactory, we still have to maintain the original innocence and heat, and adhere to that purity. Even after seeing all kinds of suffering and ugliness, he can still retain his original goodness and innocence and stick to his principles.
02, learn to embrace the world with an optimistic and positive attitude
The main thrust of this film is multiple, mainly depending on what kind of mentality you have to look at it. Looking at it with a negative attitude, you will only pay attention to the coldness of the rain and the loneliness of people, and you will not see the warm companionship and friendship behind the rain. Looking at it with the initial innocence and optimism, the wait you see will be fascinating, and the company of two people will be content and beautiful.
Like life, is life really heavy? Or is it easy? It depends on how we look at it. Living in the same world, why do some people live happily and happily, while others live in pain and suffering all the time? In fact, there is not much difference between people, but the difference in their respective mentalities leads to different endings in looking at things. Mentality is our true master.
Japanese entrepreneur Kazumi Inamori once said: The path of life is depicted by the heart. Therefore, no matter how harsh the situation you are in, your mind should not be haunted by pessimistic thoughts.
In my opinion, no matter how harsh the environment is, there will always be warmth in life that falls on us. For example, a companionship of others, a wait, a smile, a heart-warming gesture, and so on. In the face of this little bit of care, can we rejoice, encourage, and be touched by this good deed that does not ask for anything in return, like the flowing grass? Learn to embrace the world with an optimistic and positive attitude, in fact, there are many people around you who care about you, don't be swallowed up by pessimistic thoughts.
epilogue:
"Rainy City" is a memory, so that the years have more warmth; it is a waiting, so that the years are more moved; it is a lifetime of companionship, and it makes the years more of a memory; it is also a mutual reconciliation of loneliness and companionship, a mutual integration of cold and warmth, let us feel the innocence of beauty.
Although this story does not have a ups and downs plot and enthusiastic dialogue, it can be read into the depths of people's hearts. Under the brewing and passing of the years, they accompany each other, slowly grow old, and form an indestructible true feeling. It is this little story that makes us rethink our hearts.